Blogger vs. Wordpress (Yep, Still Blogger)

 

 
...And Still the Champion (For Me, Anyway)

I've tried to like Wordpress. Really, I have. Between the fact that there are two different iterations of the software (Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org), each with different features and a not-at-all-intuitive design engine, I have decided for the third time that I like Blogger better.

All Blogging, No Waiting

I know there are users who love the heck out of Wordpress, and they manage to create beautiful websites and blogs with it. I am not one of them. I'm an author, Jim, not a blogger. I've been on Blogger since 2006, and like the proverbial old dog, I don't have the patience for the new tricks when I simply want to put a blog post out into the world and share some information with you.

My defining traits are stubbornness and impatience, after all. I like a simple, intuitive interface. (You should have seen me when I first downloaded Scrivener. I almost had heart failure at how complex it is. I did get it to play nice with me, eternal thanks to author Holly Evans.)

Don't (Always) Reinvent the Wheel

Innovation is great. New apps, conveniences, and computer features are being developed so fast we can hardly keep up. (See the ongoing battle against Artificial Intelligence, or "AI," and the way it's been using copyrighted works to "learn.")

In many cases, there's nothing wrong with the tried and true. As authors, who must also be editors, who must also be graphic designers, who must also be marketers, we don't have a great deal of spare time on our hands. Google currently owns Blogger, and they're not going anywhere anytime soon, so I figure I'm safe staying put with my blog (even if that means my blog looks slightly different than my actual website). Blogger is free, still offers the features I want, and does the trick for getting my news to you.

Worry Not

The moral of the story is, don't sweat the details. You need to spend time getting your words into print if you're an author. As long as someone can find you and your works online, it doesn't much matter what platform you use. If you're a new author without much money, there are lots of ways to get an online presence without spending a dime...and Blogger is one of them. You could conceivably create a whole website using Blogger if you wanted to, although it may not be as robust as some web hosts. It might make better financial sense to use Blogger when you're just starting out.

Or if you're stubborn and impatient, you might just like it better.